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Under the Arches
A space for alumni to share their updates and bitesize news with fellow Newcastle graduates
Your alumni news noticeboard
Under the Arches is the baby sibling of our bi-monthly alumni newsletter, Arches. Here, you can read bitesize news and life updates from your global alumni community, and celebrate your own achievements with your fellow Newcastle graduates and those on campus.
Alumna's childhood cancer research wins award
Congratulations to Dr Helen Griffin (PhD, 2009), whose study on exome sequencing in children with non-Hodgkin lymphoma was recognised with the Best Experimental & Translational Science Abstract award at the Children and Young People's Cancer Association (CCLG UK) Annual Conference 2026 in Manchester.
Fine Art graduate's Glasgow exhibition explores science of motherhood
Class of 2025 Master of Fine Art Trish Hudson-Moses has a new solo exhibition 'We Are Our Memories' at Cass Art Glasgow from 22 April - 4 May 2026.
Admission is free.
Microelectronics graduate celebrates release of debut novel
After graduating from Newcastle University in 1983, John Cheshire embarked on a successful consultancy career in Big Four companies, with a principal focus on technology change.
Now, he's exploring the world of cybersecurity from a different angle as a crime author! John's debut novel System Lockout was published in March 2026, and follows Peter Beamish as he follows a trail of blood and destruction to catch cyber-criminals ransoming major national infrastructure companies.
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Class of 2000 dental graduate named as Senior Investigator by NIHR
Alumnus Professor Justin Durham, who is Dean of Research and Innovation at our Faculty of Medical Sciences, has been appointed as a Senior Investigator by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
NIHR Senior Investigators are outstanding leaders from a range of specialties and disciplines including paediatrics, podiatry, dentistry, nursing and midwifery. There are also statisticians, basic discovery scientists and health services researchers working across clinical and social care. Justin represents the research theme of Orofacial pain and is one of approximately 200 active members.
Clinical Academic on campus receives £1.57m to improve outcomes for older people with pneumonia
Congratulations to alumnus and clinical academic Dr Wezi Sendama (MBBS, 2011) who has been awarded a £1.57m five-year fellowship from the Medical Research Council to establish a research programme to develop treatments for persistent inflammation in the lungs of older people after pneumonia.
Older people who contract pneumonia find it more difficult to recover completely compared to younger people, and part of the reason is disordered and persistent inflammation in the lungs even after the infection has been cleared. Wezi's project aims to understand the mechanisms of that persistent inflammation and develop new drugs to treat it, improving health outcomes for older people.
Graduate-founded biotech company wins Northern life sciences award
Dr Dan Todd, who gained his undergraduate degree and PhD here at Newcastle University, is the founder of life sciences and biotechnology company InvenireX. The company recently achieved a £2m funding deal and it is for this success they won the Investment Deal of the Year Award at the Bionow Annual Conference on 5 March.
InvenireX is redefining the future of molecular diagnostics through intelligent DNA detection technology. Dedicated to advancing life sciences, they combine pioneering nanotechnology with AI-driven innovation to deliver faster, more accurate, and more accessible biosensing solutions.
Congratulations to Daniel and the whole team!
Two Class of 2024 Fine Art graduates named New Contemporaries
Ali Cook and Alia Gargum are amongst 26 early-career artists from across the UK who will take part in the national touring exhibition with exhibitions at the South London Gallery (on now until 12 April) and here in the North East at MIMA, Middlesbrough through May - August.
New Contemporaries has been championing new art and ideas for the past 75 years and their prestigious annual exhibition showcases the best emerging talent. Alumni of the programme include David Hockney and Tacita Dean.
We're so proud to see not just one but two Class of 2024 Newcastle graduates make the list. Congratulations Ali and Alia!
"The biggest honour of my life"
Congratulations to Dr Donna Wakefield (MClin Res, 2021) who has won the prestigious 'Wakley Prize Essay’ award from The Lancet - one of the world's oldest medical journals - for her personal essay about the impact social class has on healthcare.
Her award-winning essay, “Home”, reflects how her own experiences have shaped her outlook on socio-economic and health inequalities and, in turn, the way she approaches patient care. Donna writes about growing up in a small flat in South Tyneside as the coal mining industry – and her father’s job – came to an end, personal stories of the impact a low income has on health, and being told "people like you do not become doctors".
